Widening the pool of Inuit literature in Canada

Alex Saunders, an Inuit elder from St. Lewis in Newfoundland and Labrador, is working on a creative non-fiction book aimed at sharing his cultural knowledge.

Setting the record straight

Saunders, 78, is researching and writing a book about traditional Inuit culture that will, in his words, “set some history straight.” He hopes to share his cultural knowledge with Inuit youth and the wider Canadian public, and feels an urgency to complete his work while members of his generation are still alive to tell their stories.

Growing as a writer

Saunders is also developing his skills as a researcher and writer. He has already written one book, Aullâk: A Labrador Experience—and has won writing awards—but he still has room to grow and stories to tell. He is conducting research among Greenland Inuit, writing his memories and working on the structure of the book, whose working title is Nine Days on the Land: Memoir of an Inuit Elder.